A last-minute Xherdan Shaqiri breakaway goal handed Switzerland victory Friday as they came from behind to defeat Serbia 2-1 in Kaliningrad. The win puts Switzerland in pole position to make it out of a tough Group E that contains five-times winners Brazil but they were pushed all the way by the Serbs. It was a sweet victory for Shaqiri and fellow Swiss goalscorer Granit Xhaka, who along with team-mate Valon Belrami were booed relentlessly by Serbia's fans throughout. Shaqiri, Xhaka and Belrami trace their roots to Kosovo, a former province of Serbia, a fact which had stoked tensions before the match. Both Shaqiri and Xhaka pointedly celebrated their goals by making a 'double eagle' with their hands representing the Kosovo flag, viewed as a symbol of defiance.

"In football you have always emotions and you can see what I did and it's just emotion," man-of-the match Shaqiri said after full-time. "I'm very happy to score the goal, that's all." Serbia raced out of the blocks, funnelling possession to Southampton winger Dusan Tadic on the right flank, who troubled Switzerland with his crossing all match. An Aleksandar Mitrovic header forced a smart save from Swiss keeper Yann Sommer after four minutes. Seconds later, Tadic took the ball past left-back Ricardo Rodriguez, cut back on his favoured left foot and delivered a majestic cross that Mitrovic duly buried with his head.